Bible LESSON SNAPSHOT. Books. of the BOOKS OF THE BIBLE: HISTORY AGAIN! BOTTOM LINE: Acts tells the history of the early church.

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1 LESSON SNAPSHOT BOTTOM LINE: Acts tells the history early church. OBJECTIVE: Kids will memorize the next book: Acts. KEY PASSAGE: Acts 9:1-19, Saul s Conversion MEMORY VERSE: God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. - 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIrV) SUMMARY: After Jesus returned to Heaven, the church began to spread. The more people opposed the Gospel, the faster it grew! Acts tells the incredible story early church and the first missionaries. SIMPLE PRAYER: Dear God, Thank you for our church and the people who made it possible. In Jesus name, Amen

2 MEMORY VERSE All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIrV) LARGE GROUP: Choose three kids from the audience. Have each one sing the memory verse in a different musical style - country, hip-hop, oldies, opera, etc. SMALL GROUP: Split the verse up into sections, as many as you have kids in the group. Give each child a section to read or recite. See how well your group can read the verse together!

3 SKIT MORE HISTORY ITEMS NEEDED: None CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: 1M, 1F CHARACTERS: Mike and Elaine - fans Mike and Elaine enter. MIKE: Hey guys, I m Mike. ELAINE: And I m Elaine. MIKE: And we are fanatics! ELAINE: And today, we are getting back into history! MIKE: You may remember that the first part Old Testament was just full of history. From the first five to the twelve books of history, the tells us the story of mankind: from creation, to the fall, to the flood, to Abraham, to Moses, to the nation of Israel, to the judges, to the kings, to exile, and back home again. ELAINE: The New Testament has some history as well. It s the history early church that began when Jesus returned to Heaven. MIKE: It s an amazing history. God sends the Holy Spirit to his believers. The believers begin to speak in tongues and preach the Gospel. Miracles happen! People are saved by the thousands. ELAINE: Then God calls the most unlikely man in the world to become a missionary. A man named Saul encounters Jesus in a blinding light, and suddenly, the man who tried to stop the church of Jesus becomes it s number one spokesman!

4 SKIT MIKE: What a story! ELAINE: What history! MIKE: Now, let s memorize all the books of history in the New Testament. Ready? ELAINE: I m ready! MIKE: We start with the book of Acts. Also known as the Acts Apostles, the book of Acts was written by Luke, and it tells the story of how the early church began to grow. Since the word Acts sounds like the word for a tool called an axe, let s pretend we re holding an axe and chop at a tree to remember, Acts! ELAINE: Acts, got it. Now what s the next book? MIKE: That s it. ELAINE: What? MIKE: That s it. That s the entire history in the New Testament. ELAINE: That s it? Just one book? MIKE: Just the one. ELAINE: That must be one action-packed book! MIKE: Of course. Why do you think they call it Acts? ELAINE: Oh, I get it! So remember kids, swing the axe to remember Acts! MIKE: The history early church can be found in only one book: Acts!

5 HAND MOTION LESSON During the middle 10 lessons of this series, there will not be a traditional object lesson. Instead, use this time to teach and reinforce the hand motions that go with each book. Do you realize that the church we are in would not exist if it weren t for the early believers who built the early church? People like Peter, John, James, and the other disciples could not possibly have imagined churches like ours. They met in people s homes. Sometimes they had to hide from the authorities for fear ir lives. But because ir faithfulness and courage, our church and thousands like it are open today, worshipping God because ir acts. The book of Acts is the story early church. It s an amazing story brave believers who risked everything, including their lives, to spread the Good News of Jesus. The story of Acts can help us appreciate the church we have, but it can also challenge us to be stronger and more bold about our faith. Our hand motion for this book is an easy one. Put your hands together like you re holding an axe. Good. Now swing like you re chopping down a tree. Acts. I think you ll all remember that one, won t you? Repeat the Gospels and Acts with their hand motions with the kids 2-3 times then review all the books from Genesis to Acts to wrap up the lesson.

6 LARGE GROUP GAME NAME THAT BOOK ITEMS NEEDED: Buzzers (whoopee cushion, bike horn, or table bell make good buzzer alternatives) INSTRUCTIONS: Choose two players for this game. The players will be asked 11 questions. The first kid to buzz in gets the first guess, and if they miss it, the second player can guess. All questions will be hand motions for books that have been learned so far. The kid who gets the most right after 11 questions have been asked wins a prize. VARIATION: An alternate game would be to pick two kids and see how far each can go, reciting the books Old Testament. Whomever goes the farthest wins. WHAT S THE POINT? Acts is the only book of history in the New Testament, the story early church.

7 LARGE GROUP LESSON BOTTOM LINE: Acts tells the history early church. OBJECTIVE: Kids will memorize the next book: Acts. KEY PASSAGE: Acts 9:1-19, Saul s Conversion INTRO: The New Testament begins with what some people call the greatest story ever told. Four different men - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - each take a turn telling their version story of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies Old Testament and became the Savior world. He died to pay for our sins, and he rose again so that he could give us eternal life. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the end of one story but the beginning of another. After Jesus went away to Heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit to Earth. The early believers, who were waiting for a sign from God, were given the Holy Spirit, and they went out to preach the Gospel. It didn t take long before a small room full of people turned into thousands of people as the Good News of Jesus spread. Today we re looking at just one book, but it s a book jammed with history and stories. The full name of this book is the Acts Apostles. It was written by Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke, and it tells the story of how the disciples and early believers began to spread the Good News of Jesus. Many people were happy to hear this Good News, but not everyone. One man in particular, Saul, made it his purpose to hunt down and destroy the church and the early believers. But God had other plans for the man named Saul, and one day, Saul came face to face with Jesus. READ ACTS 9:1-19 MAIN POINT: Saul was a bad man. He wanted to find everyone who believed in Jesus and have them arrested or killed.

8 LARGE GROUP LESSON He had already stood by and watched as a young believer named Stephen was murdered, the first person to die for believing in Jesus, and he was on the road hunting for more believers to bring to justice. That s when Jesus appeared to Saul. A bright light blinded Saul, but in that blinding light, he saw that he was wrong. Like the Old Testament believers in exile and like the few good kings in ancient Israel and Judah, Saul saw that he needed to get right with God. God gave Saul his sight back and Saul became Paul, the most prolific, well traveled, and important leader in the days early church. Saul s story is nothing new. It s the same story we ve read over and over. Man rebels against God. God stops the man in his tracks. The man says he sorry, and God gives him a second chance. This is the story early church - God finding people like Saul and saving them. Because of men like Saul, we are here today, worshipping God in our church. DRIVE IT HOME: We ve asked a lot from you guys in this series. Some weeks you only learned four or five books, but in other weeks, you ve learned as many as twelve at a time. It s not easy memorizing the books, but the bigger the chunks you learn, the sooner you ll have them all. Our purpose today isn t to try and cram more books in your head. It s to celebrate the stories in this one book. The Acts isn t Gospel, and it isn t a letter like the books that follow. It s the story of how followers like the disciples became leaders, and how many people came to know Jesus without ever seeing him for themselves. Acts is an important book that cannot only educate us about the past, but inspire us today. Christians are still persecuted, just as they were in Saul s time, and sometimes we have to be bold enough to stand up for Christ. God is counting on us to represent him in this world. Will we have the courage of Peter and Paul? Will we be willing to put our faith into action? Acts is the story of how God grew his church. It s the story power Holy Spirit. It s a story of redemption and forgiveness. It is the story of us. CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER: Dear God, Thank you for our church and the people who made it possible. In Jesus name, Amen

9 SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION ICEBREAKER: Who can go through the, Genesis to John, with the hand motions? MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY: 2 Timothy 3:16 Split the verse up into sections, as many as you have kids in the group. Give each child a section to read or recite. See how well your group can read the verse together! DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Read Acts 9:1-19 Whom did Saul see in the blinding light? Why did God give Saul a second chance? What is the book of Acts about? ACTIVITY: Review the hand motions with the kids for the Gospels and Acts. Matthew - Make a big M with two hands Mark - Make a small M with 3 fingers on one hand Luke - Make an L with the thumb and index finger of one hand John - Make a W to remember, In the beginning was the Word Acts - Swing your hands as if swinging an axe at a tree SIMPLE PRAYER: Dear God, Thank you for the brave people who built your church. In Jesus name, Amen

10 POWERPOINT REVIEW GAME TRUE OR FALSE Acts appears in the New Testament. TRUE Acts takes place before the birth of Christ. FALSE God sends his Holy Spirit to his people in Acts. TRUE Saul refuses to accept Jesus and continues to persecute Christians. FALSE The book of Acts is the history early church. TRUE

11 5 Simple Ways You Can Make This Lesson Stick With Your Kids THIS WEEK S LESSON: HISTORY AGAIN! IN THE CAR: Ask your child what they learned about this week on the drive home: After Jesus returned to Heaven, the church began to spread. The more people opposed the Gospel, the faster it grew! Acts tells the incredible story early church and the first missionaries. Acts 9:1-19, Saul s Conversion HANGING OUT: Make this week s lesson real: Ask the kids to teach you the hand motions they learned to help them remember the Gospels and Acts. See if they can remember all books from the beginning. AT DINNER: Here are some great discussion starters: - What takes place in the book of Acts? - Why did God send his Holy Spirit? - How did God change Saul s heart and turn him into a leader in the church? AT BEDTIME: Quiz your child on this week s memory verse: God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIrV) PARENT TIME: What you need to know: Acts is the history early church, how the followers of Christ laid the foundation for our church today. Read some book of Acts with your kids this week.

12 "God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right." - 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIrV) "God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right." - 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIrV) "God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right." - 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIrV) CUT ON DASHED LINE "God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right." - 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIrV)

13 CRAFT ACTIVITY Each week, the kids will cut out and make book spines for the books they learn that week. The goal is by the end series, they will be able to put all se crafts end to end on a wall or other display at home to show all the books lined up, if they so choose. Use construction paper to cut out the book ends. They can either do different colored strips for each book and paste them onto another piece of paper, or they can use one color and use a marker to draw lines to divide the books. Help them write the book names on each book spine in order. This week's book is: Acts